Choose the best ingredient to keep a balanced weight is not always easy and when it comes to similar foods there are always doubts as to which could be the most suitable. If we know a little better its nutritional properties and how and when to consume them not only wins our palate but also our health. Rice, from the grass family, is the most widespread cereal in the world. There are many types of rice: round, long, basmati, bomba, integral, etc. In Spain the most used is round rice.
On the contrary, pasta is the food that results from making a dough with flour and water to which other ingredients such as eggs, salt or vegetable sauces can be added. Depending on the type of flour with which it is made and whether the flour is integral or white will have different nutritional properties.
Both pasta and rice provide us mainly carbohydrates, which are fundamental for our body since they are in charge of providing the necessary energy, and therefore, essential in a healthy diet.
White rice and white pasta have very similar nutritional content. In 100 grams of rice/pasta we will find respectively 354/342 kilocalories of energy, 7.6/12 grams of protein, 1.7/1.8 grams of fat; 77/74 grams of carbohydrates; and 0.3/2.9 grams of fiber.
Choose brown rice or pasta it is healthier since they have more fiber, vitamins and minerals. In the case of white rice, when it is stripped of the husk and in the paste, if it has been made with flours with a low degree of extraction (the higher the degree, the higher the fiber, vitamin and mineral content) they become mainly energy foods, since They have been stripped of vitamins and minerals.
One of the aspects that we must take into account is that pasta made with wheat flour, It contains gluten, a protein that celiac people do not tolerate. This is not the case with rice, which is gluten-free.
Both foods have very little fat, so it will depend on the recipe that is cooked to determine if that reduced level of fat is maintained or not. Choosing one or the other will depend on the taste of each consumer.
How much rice or pasta should we eat?
When the main dish is rice or pasta, the appropriate portions for a healthy adult person with normal energy expenditure is 80 grams of rice or pasta.
The two foods, having a high energy content, are recommended for anyone but especially in moments of greater energetic exhaustion, as it happens with athletes, in childhood and adolescence. For this reason, it is advisable to monitor the amount consumed in cases of overweight, obesity and diabetes.
in our menu rice or pasta should never appear for dinner, Since you should avoid taking large amounts of carbohydrates at night, because you don’t need a lot of energy at a time when you are going to go to sleep and rest your body, especially if you are a person who needs to take care of your weight.
Rather, it is strongly recommended eat rice and pasta several days at meals, always taking into account the amounts to take and lend attention to the rest of the ingredients that accompany them in the recipes.